The Original Sustainable Department Store at The University of Manchester

The Whitworth

Our Blue Patch store is ‘on tour’ showcasing wonderful products made in Britain by forward-thinking entrepreneurs, revealing the processes behind the brands and giving visitors the chance to browse and buy gorgeous things, rarely available on the High St.

The store will open on March 12th and run until Sunday March 31st, which happens to be Mother’s Day, so all you lovely mums pop along for sustainable pampering with the finest organic wellbeing products!

Take a look at what’s in store:

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Check out Hellion Toys, made with awesome ethics to encourage haptic development, language and imagination.

Treat your feet! Fleetwood Fox will have a selection of their beautiful pieces in store, from bath mats to ‘cottage scale’ rugs and runners.

Festival folk can pick up plastic-free face glitter from Eco Stardust. A ‘must have’ for the summer season.

Dress your table with colourful leather table mats made from offcuts of the cricket ball and saddlery trade by Spire Leather in Chesterfield. Add to the display a fine fabric vegetable by Cabbages & Nettles. 

And wordsmiths look no further, Identity Papers will stir the grey matter.

Cosy cushions and throws will be on sale by Manchester’s award winning textile designer-maker Lisa Watson and check out the newest offerings from recent Manchester University graduate Eve Kekeh, founder of the circular economy baby clothing start-up, Bundlee.

A snapshot of our 25 members and friends who will be ‘in store’ Please come and see just how beautiful Britain’s small businesses are. It’s a great way to show your support for independent brands and invest in the low carbon economy.

A Portrait of Enterprise in Britain 2019

We’re delighted to announce a collaboration between In The Right Light Photography and Blue Patch members. Alice and Anna will be capturing the spirit of business owners and makers during a transformational year.  The first photos will be exhibited at our Whitworth store. The project will take 6 months and result in 50 portraits of members of the collective.

We hope you’ll come and see for yourselves just how much pleasure can be found in ‘slow shopping’ and don’t forget, the Whitworth has a fabulous and fascinating collection and quite possibly the best cafe in Manchester! See you there….

Why we love Manchester…

Blue Patch embraces cooperative as well as environmental principles. As a triple bottom line (at least!) company, we feel privileged to be starting our tour in the great City of Manchester. With deep roots in the formation of the cooperative movement where better to launch our own movement, led by local businesses dedicated to ethical production, quality and serving their customers.

Some rather nice things being said about Blue Patch members…

‘If you thought that high street shopping had lost its edge, then you need to visit Blue Patch’s sustainable store at the Whitworth in March. It’s filled with gorgeous designer/ maker products that have the provenance, care and attention to detail that is missing from so many retail experiences today. At Blue Patch you can buy pieces that have been beautifully designed and crafted, meet the makers and hear their stories of how making products in the UK is alive and kicking.’
Oliver Heath, Interior Designer

Oliver Heath is an industry recognised expert in the field of sustainable architectural and interior design. He has presented television programmes since 1998 working for numerous channels including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Discovery Channel. www.oliverheathdesign.com

Where next?

The collective, numbering 400 businesses, are an agile bunch so with summer just around the corner,  the seaside beckons!

We’ll then return to the Manchester Museum for the 2019 grand finale, to be followed by a nap.

A very big thank you to the fantastic team at the Whitworth for giving Blue Patch this opportunity and helping launch the national tour. And to our splendid Patrons Naturesave and Thrive Renewables for supporting the collective on our long and entertaining journey!

If you would like to know about joining the Blue Patch Collective please drop us an email or call 0207 738 7267, we’d love to hear about your business!